Sesshoumaru paused one last time to turn and look at his castle in the early morning light. It felt as though if he checked one last time, he’d see Kagome standing in front of the door, waiting for him—alas, she was not. He had not slept since she had been stolen away from him, so by now, all logic in his sleep-fogged mind pointed the same direction as his heart did. The only way to get Kagome back had to be by giving into Michiko’s demands. He was a smart man; he’d figure out what to do when he got Kagome back. All that was on his mind by now was Kagome.

The simple twittering of the birds seemed to mock Sesshoumaru’s misfortune as he made his way through the forest. Granted, he could have simply taken Aun in order to reach his destination, but Michiko was expecting that. He was sure that by now she had some sort of spy watching his castle from a distance, waiting to see his arrogant exit.

Though she may have believed that he had—Sesshoumaru had not forgotten who Michiko was. That damn pest refused to leave his side after Aki’s death. She constantly flirted and threw herself at him—not unlike many other women he had met in his youth. However, the only reason that Michiko was left within his memory was because of her military background. She had always been a careful planner, often devising schemes that Sesshoumaru refused to take part in due to their lack of honor. She was always an asset on the battlefield, but after war was over she was simply a pain in the ass. He knew that she had devised something; truthfully, if he were in his right mind, he would have been able to sit down and figure it out. However, as it were, his mind was too clouded with worry to see clearly.

Hours passed, and before he realized, Sesshoumaru had arrived at his destination. The shrine that was normally warm and inviting to him suddenly seemed cold and bitter. Icy rain began to fall as Sesshoumaru approached the main shrine. He knelt down as he reached the wooden steps that led into the shrine and bowed his head in respect to the holy edifice. "Mother… please forgive me."

Kouga looked at Inu Yasha impatiently as the hanyou paced the dining hall. However it was that they had reached this conversation was beyond Kouga’s knowledge and he really didn’t feel like trying to remember. Inu Yasha had already said the exact same phrase several times prior—perhaps he thought repeating it would make Kouga morph into a book of knowledge or something like—but it was getting to Kouga’s nerves. After what seemed like another hour of whining—though it only could have been about five minutes—Kouga slammed his hand down on the table, instantly obtaining Inu Yasha’s silence. "Just tell Sayaka that you’re sorry. She’s a reasonable girl—she’ll understand. All you have to do is make sure you make it clear to her who you’re really interested in. For both your sake and hers, I should only hope that Sayaka is the one you’re really going for. She is, right?"

Inu Yasha stared at Kouga for a moment, bewildered of Kouga’s wisdom and blunt explanation. His mind quickly caught back up to Kouga’s question and he nodded. "Sayaka is… without a doubt the one I love. However, I still love Kagome, just not in the same way."

What am I doing? I mean, I probably sound like some sort of woman the way I’m prattling about love and truth… Kouga shrugged as he stood and crossed his arms. "It’s normal to worry. I’m worried for Kagome too, but I don’t go around not talking to my girl because of it."

"And just when did you get a girl, Kouga?" Inu Yasha smirked at Kouga, possibly the first smile Inu Yasha had managed since he had begun talking to Kouga.

Kouga looked around, as though he was expecting to see someone standing in the room, listening in. Anxiety was clear in his expression as he shook his head violently. "I never said that I—Oh, you, just be quiet!"

Kagura sighed as she stopped once more to eavesdrop. She knew it was hardly right that she was listening in on this conversation, but old habits die hard. For several moments, the conversation had stopped; she must have missed something of importance.

"What about Ayamé?"

Kagura’s eyes widened upon hearing Inu Yasha’s question. Ayamé was supposedly the wolf yokai that Kouga was engaged to. He had blown her off for several reasons—the biggest excuse had been Kagome. Now that it was obvious that he was not going to have Kagome, would Kouga revert back to Ayamé?

"I don’t know… Technically, it is my obligation as a leader of the wolf tribe to take her hand. I can’t say anything for sure right now…"

Those weren’t the words Kagura wanted to hear. As though to drive the thought from her mind, she shook her head violently and then hurried outside of the castle. No one was outside to see her as she flew away in the early evening drizzle.

As she heard a quiet knocking at her door, she realized what had caused her to awaken. She moved to sit up, but stopped when she felt his arms hold her more tightly. She glanced back at him and saw as he shook his head and gave her a rather mischievous grin. When the knocking persisted, he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. Realizing that the person knocking was more than likely one of the children, Sango shook her head and reluctantly pushed his arms away from her.

As he watched Sango stand, her bare form just visible in the morning light, he felt his heart skip a beat. Her beauty was indeed breath taking, but the sight of the scar on her back angered him. To think that Naraku had been the cause of that scar did little to settle his anger. Finally, Sango turned around to face him, just as she fastened the lower part of her taijiya’s leather pants.

Sango immediately noticed the angry scowl on Miroku’s face. Her previously light smile fell from her expression. "What’s wrong, Miroku?"

Miroku blinked for a moment, broken from his thoughts. "Hmm?"

Sango looked pointedly at Miroku as she pulled on her top. "You seemed angry about something. Is my appearance that jarring to your eyes that you become angered upon seeing me?"

Miroku felt a pang of guilt as her realized that she had seen his angered expression. Knowing no better way to soothe her, he stood and moved towards Sango. "Sango, you are more beautiful than you will ever dare to know… I, well, I was simply thinking of how you have never quite been treated as well as you should be."

Sango shuddered as she felt Miroku’s fingers move down her spine. She realized, when he hesitated at the point of her scar, exactly what had angered him so. He had always been tense when the subject of what had happened to her came into conversation. She had even managed to put most of it behind her, yet she knew that he was bothered more by it every day. She sighed as she buttoned her top and stated, "Naraku has been killed, Miroku. There’s nothing more you can do about that… Just… be glad that we don’t have to fight any more."

Miroku stared into Sango’s eyes for a few moments and then pulled her into his embrace. "Sango, I certainly hope we never will have to fight again… Because… if I were to ever lose you, I don’t know what I would do… I wouldn’t be able to live, Sango."

Before she was able to properly reply, the knocking at their door sounded once more, this time with more urgency. Once more, Sango pushed away from Miroku. She motioned for him to get his clothes on, then opened the door slightly, and slipped out of the room. She heard from another room the sound of a crying child. She glanced down and saw a rather distressed Shippo. "What’s wrong, Shippo-chan?"

"Rin-chan is crying!" Shippo quickly turned away from Sango and bounded down the hallway, prompting the taijiya to follow after him. As soon as he reached the door of the room that Rin was in, Shippo stopped and pointed at the closed door that led to Rin’s room.

Sango gently pushed open the door and stepped inside. She heard the now muted sobbing from Rin as the girl pushed her face into a blanket. Sango lightly placed her hand on Rin’s shoulder. "Rin-chan, what’s the matter?"

The girl shook her head at first, but only an instant later began explaining. "Sango-chan, Rin had a bad dream! Rin had a bad dream that Sesshoumaru-sama was taken away like okaa-san and otou-san, so Rin went to look for Sesshoumaru-sama… But when Rin looked all over the place, Rin couldn’t find Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Sango gingerly lifted the crying child onto her lap and stroked her hair. "Shh… it’s okay, Rin-chan, it was just a bad dream…"

Rin’s brown eyes continued to pool with tears. "But, Sango-chan, where is Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sango shrugged as she heard Miroku enter the room. She smiled at him as he paused in the doorway, but continued to comfort the child nonetheless. "I’m sure that he’s around here somewhere, Rin-chan."

Rin shook her head and pushed away from the older girl. "Sesshoumaru-sama never leaves without telling Rin or telling Jaken-sama to tell Rin!"

Sango glanced up at Miroku, a pleading look in her eyes. "Miroku, could you look around and find Sesshoumaru? I’m sure that he cannot be far."

Miroku nodded and promptly left the room. He felt a twinge of happiness when he thought back to having seen Sango holding Rin—like a child of her own, no, their own.

A.N. One year anniversary for the creation of this fic! That’s right, I first began writing ‘Lying From You’ December 15th, 2003! I never thought when I began that this would be such a popular piece, exceeding even my own expectations for any of my own work! I guess I have all of you to thank for being such faithful readers!

Gotta know, everyone, what do you all think of the pairings going on right now? Sango and Miroku? Sayaka and Inu Yasha? Kagura and Kouga? Will Michiko continue to pursue Sesshoumaru’s hand? What will Kagome do about that? Is it just me, or is everyone having too easy of a time with their relationships?

Also, most recent news in my life, good and bad: Bad news first—I hit a deer last Thursday! Yes, it did injure my poor baby (my car, that is), but luckily none of us in the car at the time were hurt at all. Good news—my boyfriend and I are doing well and…. Well, I’d only tell you all ‘cause I love ya—First kiss! (Also last Thursday, believe it or not) Made the night a little easier to handle as it became progressively worse, knowing that everything in my life is beginning to fall back into place.

Ja ne,

Ryoko Yuy / V Shape Otaku